FOSS Web Mail - What do you use?

[Brandon Stout]

   Ryan Simpkins wrote:

On Wed, November 29, 2006 11:40, Wade Preston Shearer wrote:
  

Gmail does offer hosted mail for other domains.  I'm not sure on the
details, but a former coworker of mine used it for his side
business and
was happy with it.  I personally can't stand Gmail's interface.  Dunno
what it is, but I just really dislike it.  Yahoo's new one is much
better for my tastes, although I wish they'd take it out of "beta"
already.  Wait, isn't gmail still beta?  That said, I use Thunderbird
for my primary email accounts.
      

I personally don't understand why web-based email clients are so
popular. They are nice for the rare emergency when you need to check
your mail at a kiosk or on another computer when you are away, but I
can't see how people prefer them over a local app for normal use.
    

I can't speak for everyone, but here is why I like running my own web mail:

- I have multiple systems I check mail from. My mail is always in sync and I never
have to wait for a client to sync folders.
- No messages stored locally means a lesser chance someone can access them
accidently or on purpose.
- I do not have to configure multiple clients each time I add a new system I check
mail from.
- My preferences are stored on the server, so it always remembers how I like things.
- I am pretty mobile. I can check my e-mail anywhere with a browser.
- All of my e-mail and settings are stored on the server, wich makes it really easy
to back up.
- I do not have to allow additional ports access to the server. IMAP only allows
localhost connections on my server.
- I can use Apache to lock down access to my web mail, allowing only certain people
to even see the login screen.
- In the case I need to upgrade to gain features or fix bugs I only need to upgrade
one location.

Well, those are just a few. :)

   I personally don't like gmail since they don't support IMAP, which is
   much better than POP.   For mobility, I use a USB Flash
   Drive w    - I also have multiple mail systems, and with my Thunderbird
   client    - I keep my usb drive with me, and all the emails stored on it
   are     - I only had to configure one client
    - My preferences are stored on this one client
    - USB drives are mobile, and can be used nearly anywhere
    - My email and settings are stored both on the server and in the
   client, which means it's already backed up
    - It already has all my settings, I can pgp-sign and pgp-encrypt
   on-the-fly
    - I can open just IMAP over SSH, which is more secure than port
   80     - I don't even give Apache access to my email at all - one less
   thi    - To upgrade Thunderbird, I just paste new version files over
   the t   I personally like this method best.
   BTW, I can also encrypt the USB drive.
   Brandon Stout
   [1]http://mscis   [2]http://flfn.o
References

   1. 3D"http://mscis.org"/
   2. 3D"http://flfn.org"/
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